AstraZeneca Earns Up But Investors Cautious

JANE WARDELL

LONDON (AP) — Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC lifted its full-year earnings forecast on Thursday, banking on continued gains from its swine flu vaccine, after posting a 22 percent hike in third quarter profits.

But investors were not swayed by the positive topline result, which was fueled by a number of one-off factors, and the London-based company's share price dropped amid concern about its ability to contend with growing generic competition to its drugs.

AstraZeneca posted net profit of $2.12 billion for three months to the end of September, up from $1.74 billion in the same period a year ago.

Revenue rose 5.5 percent to $8.2 billion, supported by the delayed entry of generic drug competition in the United States and strong demand for its cholesterol drug Crestor, as well as sales of the H1N1 vaccine.

The company lifted its full year earnings per share forecast to a range of $6.20 to $6.40, from $5.70 to $6 previously.

Chief Financial Officer Simon Lowth acknowledged the results were "boosted by some unanticipated revenue upside," but said that AstraZeneca's progress was solid, pointing to consistent growth in emerging markets, where revenue was up 15 percent over the quarter.